Two Gates Fisheries in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, has secured a grant for £12,500 after investing in a carbon-cutting Kiremko frying range.
The new four pan high efficiency Kiremko range is set to reduce carbon emissions and gas usage by 50% compared with the takeaway’s previous range. This qualified the business for a green innovation grant offered by Barnsley council to help local businesses reduce their carbon emissions and start working towards Net Zero.
Owner Craig Butcher, who took over the business in 2017, comments: “Learning about our carbon footprint and where we could make savings was really interesting. Especially how much of an impact upgrading to a high efficiency frying range would make to both our carbon emissions and our gas bills. It shows that even a small fish and chip shop can make quite a big difference.”
With us helping Craig to acquire the information he needed to submit his application for the grant, he adds: “I can’t fault KFE in terms of their assistance, help and knowledge. They know every millimetre of that range, what it can do and what it’s going to do, and they provided us with numerous quotes on the carbon emissions and gas usage to satisfy the council and help secure us the grant.”
Obtaining the grant helped Craig settle a decision he was battling with: sell up and pass the 90-year-old fish and chip takeaway on or invest and take it forward.
“The only way that we were going to keep going as a business was by saving money,” says Craig. “With gas prices going up, my old range was becoming unaffordable. I didn’t want to put my prices up because then you become less competitive, so we made the decision to invest in a new high efficiency range that would help keep us in the market.”
Delivering consistency
In addition to reducing costs and carbon emissions, Two Gates’ new Kiremko range delivers the consistency Craig has struggled to achieve as the business has grown and taken on more staff.
“Because of the excellent heat retention of the pans and the ability for staff to blanch and twice cook chips, we are now getting a much better product,” says Craig.
“The timers help too as they prompt people to go back to the fish whereas they might have just left it for another 20 or 30 seconds. It’s the same with the chips, they are very consistent now because staff know when they are ready as opposed to free frying when I was constantly saying, why are you getting them out now? You can see they are not ready.”
With built-in filtration extending oil life and a ten-year pan warranty providing peace of mind against repair costs, Craig is confident the decision to invest back into his business was the right one.
“It’s going to take us into the next 10 to 20 years for sure and I think we’re going to thrive as a business,” he adds. “It’s making decisions like this that will keep businesses afloat and, hopefully, ensure we still have fish and chip shops in towns and villages for years to come.”
Experiencing a Kiremko high efficiency frying range in action and visiting other operators using a Kiremko were key factors in Craig’s decision to choose KFE. He adds: “It provided reassurance that when you do have the range installed and you get settled, you know it’s going to be a good decision.”